NBA- Chandler Leads the Knicks to Beat Charlotte 98-94
The New York Knicks obtained its sixth victory in the last eight games, after beating the Charlotte Bobcats 98-94 this past Sunday in the Madison Square Garden. On Friday, the Knicks beat Los Angeles Clippers 95-91 and with this win against the Bobcats, New York added its second consecutive victory. On the other hand, this is the third consecutive lost for the Bobcats, who currently have a record of 10-16 in the Eastern Conference. Starting the first quarter, both teams scored baskets out back and forth, tiding the score five times. However, the Knicks obtained the lead with a three-pointer from Bender with 32. 3 seconds to end the quarter, 16-14. In the second quarter, the Knicks were missing three-pointers while Charlotte players Ronald Murray and Raymond Felton were contributing with some good baskets, tying the score 37-37 with 3:41 left. Nevertheless, the Knicks took the lead with 14-8 run to end the quarter 51-45 in their favor. New York extended their lead to 10 points with 3:30 left in the third quarter. However Charlotte responded in hands of Nazr Mohammed with an 8-4 streak to cut the score 70-76. New York started the last quarter by scoring two free throws and increasing their lead to eight points. The Bobcats reacted with a three pointer and two free throws to cut the lead to just three points. The Knicks were determine to get the victory and scored some baskets to extend their lead, but Charlotte reacted immediately to close the gap down to 86-85 with 4:47 left. Both New York and Charlotte were hoping for the win. Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari were guiding the Knicks scoring, while Felton was doing it for the Bobcats. At the end, despite Felton’s good shots, Gallinari closed the game by making two free throws and then blocking a shot, to give the victory to the Knicks 98-94. After the game, the Italian guard Gallinari said he was really happy with the way his team is playing on both the defensive and offensive ends. There’s good chemistry between the players and this has help them attain positive results in the last few games. “It feels good. When you have these results, it’s rewarding. I think we’re definitely playing better. We’re playing good defense for 48 minutes,” said Gallinari of the triumph. On the other hand, Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni stated it is a great feeling to find their winning path again despite their bad start this season. He is hoping that his team will take advantage of that. “Because we’ve had a bad start, this is a stretch you have to take advantage of. This is one opportunity that we have to right the ship and get back in the hunt. We’re doing it so far but we still have a few more games here at home,” expressed D’Antoni. The New York Knicks top scorers were Wilson Chandler with 26 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists; Danilo Gallinari with 21 points, 2 steals and 2 blocks; David Lee with 15 points, 15 rebounds and 7 rebounds; Chris Duhon with 13 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds; Jonathan Bender with 11 points and finally Al Harrington with 10 points and 3 rebounds. For the Charlotte Bobcats the best scorers were Raymond Felton with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists; Tyson Chandler with 13 points and 14 rebounds; Ronald Murray with 12 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds; Derrick Brown with 10 points and 6 rebounds and ultimately Stephen Jackson with 10 points.
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